The invention relates to electronically controlled sewing machines, and more particularly, to a means for readily and quickly obtaining from such a sewing machine a lateral feeding and patterning capability that will permit the machine so modified to feed in a longitudinal direction, as is usual in sewing machines, and, selectively, in a lateral direction in the formation of lateral stitches, or of lateral patterns.
It is known in the prior art, to provide for sewing machines having lateral feeding capability. There is, for example, in the Japanese Patent Publication No. 27028/65, applied for Dec. 24, 1963, a disclosure of a mechanical sewing machine wherein the fabric may be fed laterally by a lateral motion of the sewing needle while in a work material, to produce, for example, a random pattern having an extra wide bight. There is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,382 of Ketterer et al, a sewing machine having a removable cam mechanism which influences motion of the needle bar and needle attached thereto while in the work material, thereby to effect lateral shift thereof. The above two prior art devices disclose sewing machines in which mechanical means are provided to enable lateral shift of work material, the United States Patent disclosing a means whereby this may be incorporated into a family type of sewing machine.
There is also a body of prior art in the class of sewing machine known as needle feed machines. This prior art relates to a particular type of industrial sewing machine which normally includes a needle bar mechanism oscillatable in the line of feed while undergoing endwise reciprocation. Normally, an industrial sewing machine having a needle feed is dedicated to this particular type of operation without the potential for conversion to any other type of operation.
In the recent past, there have been made available sewing machines wherein the sewing instrumentalities are manipulated by electrical means under the control of electronic circuitry. In these types of machines, for example, a needle bar may be shifted by means of a stepper motor or a linear motor, which receives its directions from a magnetic tape or a solid state memory. The position of a feed regulator or sewing machine work clamp may be similarly achieved and determined. What is required is a means for obtaining lateral feeding of a work material in these electronically controlled sewing machines. It would be further desirable, that these machines incorporate the capability for lateral patterning in addition to the longitudinal patterning capability inherent in these machines.